Dylan Bettencourt
Paddling itself is not a very common sport but one man decided he’d take it up using a very unconventional vessel: a pumpkin.
The athlete from Nebraska, USA, thought there was no better way to spend his 60th birthday than breaking the record for the furthest distance paddled in the vegetable, by travelling 60km along a river.
If that is not impressive enough, Duane Hansen grew the pumpkin in his own back garden.
Hansen was seen crouched in a massive 350kg hollowed out pumpkin before setting off down the Missouri river at 7.30am and returning at around 6.30pm.
Nothing like a day out on the river in a pumpkin you grew yourself.
But Hansen said paddling a pumpkin around was not easy work. The 11-hour trip took its toll.
“I went 38 miles down the river without standing up and my knees still hurt,” Hansen said in a video posted by Reuters.
“I probably won’t try this again. If somebody breaks this record, I will bow down to them because they are tough.”
Along with the physical pain, Hansen had to deal with heavy rain and cold weather.
“I thought, I’ll just paddle harder and warm up. I wasn’t thinking about quitting,” he said.
“I went another four to five miles and it rained again. Berta is only about eight inches above the water line. I’ve never paid so much attention for so long in my entire life. It was tough.”
A Facebook post from the city of Bellevue described Hansen as a “longtime Nebraska resident who enjoys growing large pumpkins, gourds and other vegetables as a hobby.”
The record breaker asked city officials to be present so his achievement could potentially go into the Guinness Book of World Records.
While the record has not been recognised yet, his journey in a pumpkin beats the previous record held by Rick Swenson, who managed 40km in 2016.
It is unclear whether Hansen will use his mode of transport as a delicious side to his dinner in the near future.
Image source: @TheWashingtonPost
